Grammar for Making New Year’s Resolutions
The New Year can come on different dates for different cultures. Most of the Western world, for example, celebrates it on January 1st.
But one thing many cultures have in common is the idea of New Year's resolutions. A New Year's resolution is a personal goal to change unwanted behavior, make a life improvement or try something new.
Popular New Year's resolutions in the United States, for example, include losing weight, improving your finances, volunteering for a charity and spending less time on social media.
On today's grammar, we will show you how to talk about resolutions in English.
Asking a question
First, let's learn how to ask people about their resolutions.
Listen to a short conversation:
Hey there, Jill. Happy New Year! Great to see you.
Hi, Jonathan. Happy New Year to you too! How was yours?
It was crazy! We went to New York and watched the ball drop in Times Square. Really crowded and loud – but still really fun.
Sweet! Do you have any New Year's resolutions?
Jill asked Jonathan about resolutions simply by saying, “Do you have any New Year's resolutions?”
You can also say, “What are your New Year's resolutions?” to ask about more than one or “What is your New Year's resolution?” to ask about one.
Now, let's find out how to answer the question.
Using phrasal verbs
When we make statements about our resolutions, we often use phrasal verbs.
We can use the phrasal verb “take up” to say that we will start a new activity as a hobby.
Listen to Jill and Jonathan continue their conversation:
Sweet! Do you have any New Year's resolutions?
Yes, I do. I plan to take up kickboxing starting next week. I'm excited to finally do it rather than just talk about it! How about you?
Another phrasal verb for resolutions is “give up,” which is to stop doing or using something. We can use this verb to talk about ending bad habits or changing a behavior for a time.
Let's hear Jill respond using the verb “give up”:
How about you?
I am giving up sugar for the month of January. Then, for the rest of the year, I'm avoiding soft drinks.
Impressive! I wish I could join you but kickboxing class starts soon. I'll probably want a sweet snack after class!
Another phrasal verb, “cut out,” has the same basic meaning as “give up.” For example, Jill could say, “I am cutting out sugar for the month of January.”
But in many situations, we do not need phrasal verbs to talk about resolutions, as you will soon see.
Using future forms
Next, let's talk about verb tenses and forms. Jonathan talked about his new kickboxing hobby using the verb “plan” followed by the infinitive verb form and Jill talked about giving up sugar using the present continuous verb tense, also called “BE + ing.”
We can also use the simple future tenses: one with “will” and the other with “going to.” These tenses are especially useful when the New Year has not come yet.
Imagine it's the last week of the year and a few people are talking to each other about resolutions: Here are some things you might hear:
In 2020, I'm going to visit my parents every month.
By January 1, I will end a few unhealthy friendships.
In the new year, I'm going to walk 10,000 steps every day.
When we use simple future tenses to talk about resolutions, we're expressing that we are making a promise to or plan for ourselves. The noun “resolution” comes from the verb “resolve,” which means to make a serious decision to do something.
Infinitives and gerunds
You may have noticed that the statements so far today did not actually use the word “resolution.” That is because the subject was already known by the listeners. But it is still perfectly normal to start your statements with, “My New Year's resolution is...” or “My New Year's resolutions are...” An infinitive verb or a gerund must come after these phrases. Here is an example:
My New Year's resolution is to call my sister on video chat every week.
The infinitive verb here is “to call.”
You can also use a gerund, like this:
My New Year's resolution is calling my sister on video chat every week.
Well, that's all for today's program. Happy New Year!
参考译文：
关于制定新年决心的英语语法
在不同的文化背景下，新年的日期各不相同。例如，大多数西方国家在1月1日庆祝新年。然而，许多文化都有一个共同点，即制定新年决心。新年决心是指个人设定的目标，旨在改变不良行为、改善生活或尝试新事物。例如，在美国，常见的新年决心包括减肥、改善财务状况、为慈善机构做志愿者以及减少社交媒体使用时间。在今天的语法课上，我们将向您展示如何用英语表达新年决心。
首先，让我们学习如何询问他人的新年决心。请听一段简短的对话：
你好，吉尔。新年快乐！很高兴见到你。
你好，乔纳森。也祝你新年快乐！你们的新年过得怎么样？
太疯狂了！我们去了纽约，在时代广场观看了水晶球的降落。虽然非常拥挤和嘈杂，但仍然很有趣。
是的，听起来很棒！你有什么新年决心吗？
吉尔简单地问乔纳森关于新年决心的问题：“你有新年决心吗？” 您也可以问：“你的新年决心是什么？” 或者“你今年有什么计划？”
接下来，我们来看看如何回答这个问题。当我们陈述我们的决心时，经常使用动词短语。我们可以用动词短语“take up”来表示开始一项新的活动作为爱好。请继续听吉尔和乔纳森的对话：
是的，我打算下周开始练习自由搏击。我很兴奋终于可以付诸行动，而不仅仅是说说而已！你呢？
另一个表示决心的动词短语是“give up”，意思是停止做某事或戒掉某种习惯。我们可以用这个动词来谈论结束坏习惯或改变一段时间的行为。请听吉尔回答：
我打算在一月份不吃糖，然后在今年剩下的时间里不再喝软饮料。令人印象深刻！我希望我能加入你们，但是跆拳道课马上就要开始了。下课后我可能要吃点甜食！
另一个与“give up”意思相近的动词短语是“cut out”。例如，吉尔可以说，“我一月份将不再吃糖。”
在很多情况下，我们不需要动词短语来谈论决心。接下来，我们来谈谈动词的时态和形式。乔纳森用动词“计划”和动词不定式来谈论他新的跆拳道爱好，而吉尔则用现在进行时（BE + ing）来谈论放弃糖。我们也可以用一般将来时：一个用will，另一个用going to。这些时态在新年尚未到来时特别有用。想象一下，这是一年的最后一周，几个人在讨论新年决心：
以下是你可能会听到的一些说法：
2020年，我打算每个月都去看望我的父母。
到1月1日，我将结束一些不健康的友谊。
在新的一年里，我要每天走一万步。
当我们用一般将来时谈论决心时，我们是在表达对自己做出的承诺或计划。“resolution”这个词来自动词“resolve”，意为做出严肃的决定去做某事。不定式和动名词也是表达新年决心的重要组成部分。以“我的新年决心是……”开头的句子后面必须跟不定式动词或动名词。例如：
我的新年决心是每周给我妹妹打电话视频聊天。
我的新年决心是每周与妹妹进行一次视频通话。
好了，今天的节目就到这里。祝大家新年快乐！